Family of North Bergen hit-and-run victim offers reward for information about driver

A pedestrian was struck in a hit-and-run accident in North Bergen Friday night.

The family of Omar Monroig, the man killed in a hit-and-run on Tonnelle Avenue on
March 23, is offering a $5,000 award for information on the driver of the car
that hit him.

The family is getting involved in the search after calls for help by the North Bergen township police has not resulted in any
leads, said township spokesman Phil Swibinski.

Swibinski said surveillance videos and pieces of the car left at the scene
indicate it is a blue Toyota Corolla, between model years 2001-2004.

The township will also be holding an investigation tonight – exactly two
weeks after the accident – at the site of the hit-and-run to evaluate traffic
patterns and to hand out pamphlets to drivers in the area in an attempt to find
the driver, he said.

The investigation will begin at 10 p.m. at the corner of Tonnelle Avenue and 51st Street.

Monroig, 42, of Butler, was hit at that location, where he was thrown 110 feet north after
being struck by the vehicle, officials said. Monroig succumbed to his injuries
at 4:33 p.m. Sunday, according to Detective Frank Mena.

In light of the victim's death, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said
that charges would be upgraded.

"The incident could be raised from the charge of leaving the scene of an
accident with serious injuries to leaving the scene of a fatal accident," DeFazio
said.